Magnetic resonance elastography is an imaging technique for estimating the stiffness of tissues non-invasively. Shear waves are generated via external mechanical actuation and imaged with a specially designed magnetic resonance pulse sequence. The resulting images are used to calculate the underlying properties of the tissue.
Brain tissue viscoelasticity measured with MRE has continually shown promise in assessing neurodegenerative conditions and intracranial tumors. To develop the ability of MRE methods to capture local property measures, many recent methodological advancements have focused on the pursuit of high-resolution viscoelastic maps through improved imaging techniques. The challenge in acquiring high-resolution MRE data rests in balancing total scan time, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and distortions from field inhomogeneity.